. For those of you who haven't read it, it's a book about the craft of writing, with some of King's personal life blended in (or as he calls it, "the making of a writer").Along the way I've been underlining and marking off pages that I think are important to remember. I thought I'd share them with you every Thursday.
The first nugget of advice I came across is this:
"You must not come lightly to the blank page... It's writing, not washing the car, or putting on eyeliner."
-On Writing, page 99
It doesn't take much to figure out what he is talking about here. You need to come at your writing with everything you've got. Leave nothing behind. Take no prisoners. Put your heart and soul into it.
I think this is the first step to writing a good quality book is to actually want to write. This means sacrifices. You can't waste your Sundays napping and watching TV. When you get home from the job you have that pays the bills, you need to flip on your computer and work on that other job - your novel. It means lost sleep. It means cranky spouses. But if you want it, really want it, it will all be worth it in the end.
So friends, I challenge you to go whole hog with your writing this weekend. Make that blank page beg for mercy when you're done with it!
On Writing is, to this day, one of the best books I've ever read. I've never been a fan of King's work, but after reading this novel (about 2 years ago), I have had a massive amount of respect for the man.
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